Middle school Mathletes® from Fort Worth area schools will compete in the Fort Worth chapter contests of the national MATHCOUNTS® program from 9 a.m.-2:45 p.m. Feb. 4 in the Brown Lupton University Union Grand Ballroom on the TCU campus in Fort Worth. The Fort Worth Chapter of the Texas Society of Professional Engineers organizes the competition. Twenty-four schools and 165 students are expected to compete at this year’s chapter competition. Texas Christian University in Fort Worth will host the chapter MATHCOUNTS competition this year.

Teachers and students have been preparing for the competition since the fall. Students will compete individually and as teams in written and fast-paced oral matches. Subjects include algebra, probability, statistics and geometry. Winners will receive trophies, and will advance to the state MATHCOUNTS finals, to be held in Austin March 23-24.

MATHCOUNTS is a national program designed to improve math skills among U.S. students. The program focuses on middle school students, who are at a crucial stage in developing and sustaining math interest and ability. Students who do not begin developing strong problem-solving, logical thinking and analytical abilities in middle school will face an uphill battle later in life if they wish to pursue a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics.

The 2012 MATHCOUNTS Competition will consist of approximately 40,000 students, representing more than 6,000 schools from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories and schools affiliated with the Department of Defense and State Department.

The National Sponsors of MATHCOUNTS are Raytheon Company, National Defense Education Program, Northrop Grumman Foundation, National Society of Professional Engineers, CNA Foundation, ThinkFun, Texas Instruments Incorporated and 3M Foundation. The National Society of Professional Engineers, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and CNA Foundation founded MATHCOUNTS.

Additional information on MATHCOUNTS is available at www.mathcounts.org.